In The News 8-23-2013

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cynthia
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August 22, 2013 @ 3:00 PM
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Windows 8.1 Release Date Announced

The Windows 8.1 update release date was announced by Microsoft in a blog post. Starting October 18th, Windows 8 users can get a free update from the Windows Store. Windows 8.1 will also be available to purchases and on selected new devices on October 18, but that will roll out market by market.

Microsoft promises an improved Windows Store, better cloud connectivity and the return of a the much-missed Start Button (at least a form of it).

Google Blocks YouTube app on Windows Phones.

The war between Google and Microsoft goes on. Tech giant Google has blocked videos on the Windows Phone YouTube app, saying Microsoft has violated the terms of service.

The official YouTube statement reads, “We’re committed to providing users and creators with a great and consistent YouTube experience across devices, and we’ve been working with Microsoft to build a fully featured YouTube for Windows Phone app, based on HTML5. Unfortunately, Microsoft has not made the browser upgrades necessary to enable a fully-featured YouTube experience, and has instead re-released a YouTube app that violates our Terms of Service.”

Microsoft fired back with its own statement, “It seems to us that Google’s reasons for blocking our app are manufactured so that we can’t give our users the same experience Android and iPhone users are getting. The roadblocks Google has set up are impossible to overcome, and they know it. We think it’s clear that Google just doesn’t want Windows Phone users to have the same experience as Android and Apple users, and that their objections are nothing other than excuses. Nonetheless, we are committed to giving our users the experience they deserve, and are happy to work with Google to solve any legitimate concerns they may have. In the meantime, we once again request that Google stop blocking our YouTube app.”

Signs Point To New Kindle Fire Release

A recent drop in the price of the Kindle Fire HD could indicate that a new tablet is on the way from Amazon for the holiday season. Amazon dropped the price of the 7″ HD $159 from $199 for a limited time, and that’s usually the pattern the company follows before releasing a new model.

Amazon also announced an update to the Amazon Silk browser and an new developer guide.

A report on Taiwan’s UDN.com says that consumers can expect three new Kindle Fire tablets to be build by a Taiwanese manufacturer.